Lady Gaga Meets the Dalai Lama to Discuss Kindness and the Importance of Compassion

Lady Gaga is a longtime champion of human rights who often uses her lyrics and celebrity to highlight the issues of underserved communities. And following the aftermath of the tragedies in Orlando, the activist not only delivered an epic speech in memory of the victims but also spent a day in Indianapolis, where she caught up with the Dalai Lama to discuss kindness and address mayors across the country during a live panel about the topic on Sunday.

While Gaga shared her own words of wisdom to the crowd, she also met with the Tibetan Buddhist leader separately and quizzed him on advice for living a more peaceful life. She kicked off their conversation by asking questions submitted through social media from people across the globe. Together, they discussed the importance of compassion, with the Dalai Lama explaining how giving back to others ultimately boosts self-confidence. “So what you’re saying is that caring for others and having compassion, it gives you a sense of purpose?” Gaga clarified at one point, to which the leader replied, “That’s right.”

Later in the day, Gaga took to Instagram to share behind-the-scenes shots of her momentous encounter.

She also shared a 'gram with the transcript of her own moving words, which she delivered during the panel for U.S. mayors. “We are unified in our humanity and the only thing that we all know, we all appreciate in one another is kindness,” she said.